The Quarrels of Criminals
by Cordeelia
Summary: (Taken from my other account and put on here) The Akatsuki want it all, power, the world. But to achieve that, they may need to help from another Uchiha. With the main character being a smart-ass, dive into the world of the criminals and discover their daily quarrels.
1. Befriending the Lord of the Flies

The Quarrels of Criminals

** Preword, Warning, and Disclaimer**

_I do not own any of the characters in this story except my OC. Any others will be stated. Naruto is a copyright of Masashi Kishimoto._

_Warning: There is strong language, sexual themes, incest, yaoi and other things I can't be arsed to find the name for._

_This is the third time I've rewritten my Oc story. I started when I was 12, naming it "The Lost Uchiha." I rewrote it a year later when I was 13, renaming it "The New Light."Now that I am 16 with thoughts of my Oc dancing around in my head, I am rewriting it for a third time. Ladies and Gentlemen, a four-year mind project in the making, I give you the new version, renamed, "The Quarrels of Criminals."_

**Preface**

"Push, Madame, push!"

Amiko Uchiha let a scream emit from her lips as she gave one last push. A minute later, she heard the cries of her newborn child from below her. Finally, she thought, finally she had a son that would do great things in her life. A strong baby boy.

Mustering enough strength to lift her head up, Amiko asked, "Where is my babyboy? Bring him to me."

No one answered her, but nurses helped her sit up straight and dabbed her forehead of sweat.

"Where is my son?" she demanded once more looking around, but the child was nowhere to be found. Neither was the midwife or any of the doctors.

"Our child is being examined by the doctors."

Amiko glanced in the direction of the voice and frowned. It was the voice of Prince Afonos Takimoto Dragomir. The would-be King of the infamous Takimoto clan, one of the fiercest and diverse clans within the Ninja World. But more importantly, Amiko's husband through arranged marriage. She had no feelings for the man at all, no matter how much wealth and power he came with. The only reason why she was with him was to have a son.

Amiko sneered as she lit up a cigarette, "What's wrong with our son, eh? Did I not marry you to breed one of the finest warriors seen? Surely the lad is strong enough, being out of your loins, Husband."

The Prince sighed, "While that is true, there still could be complications with the birth no matter how strong the parents are."

She let out a puff and looked at Afonos up and down, "Are you trying to say there is something wrong with the baby?"

Afonos nodded, "There is. The baby was born… small."

"Is he a dwarf?"

"No, what I meant by small was that, it… it has the Dragomir gene."

Blowing rings of smoke, the Uchiha shrugged, "That means he'll be a greater warrior."

Afonos hesitated, "There is one other thing."

"And what would that be? Was he born with two heads? Four arms, one leg?"

The Prince was about to reply when a young boy ran into the room followed by his mother and 3 year old brother.

"Uncle Afonos! Is our baby cousin ready to be held? Is she? Is she?" a very young Itachi Uchiha grabbed his uncle's hand and pulled.

Amiko choked on her cigarette smoke, "What does he mean by _she."_

Mikoto Uchiha looked surprised as she picked up Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke from the ground, "You did not know that your child was a girl? A very pretty one she is too. Small though. I'm sure she'll grow out of it." Seeing the angry look on Amiko's face, she twitched, "I know you were expecting a son, but perhaps there is a different fate in mind."

The Takimoto Prince bite his lip hard as he felt his wife's glare burn into him. The cold-hearted woman looked away, "Everybody except by idiotic husband, leave. _Now._"

**Chapter One**

**Befriending the Lord of the Flies**

"There's no where you can hide, Uchiha!"

Ayumee stiffened inside the shadows of an abandoned cave as she turned down her chakra. Shit, shit, shit, she thought. There was a criminal assassins guild out for her head; Literally. A month ago, she had met with the Leader of the guild. He had tried to make a deal with her to join his guild. After he had made extremely sexual passes at her, she beheaded him, stuck the dismembered head on a stake and ever so kindly stuck it outside of the hideout. This, of course, was not a very good way to make friends, and so, the new elected Leader was after her with a vengeance.

"I'm going to find you and do to you what you did to our former Leader!"

He was getting closer. Shit, she thought again, she had to kill him and fast. Carefully squatting on her legs, she shifted over to the opening to the cave and peeked out. The idiot was waving his sword around in the air with his back to her. She retreated back into the cave, stood up and made a brave hop into the opening. As quietly as she could, she grabbed an arrow from her quiver and positioned it on the bow, aiming it straight for the heart of the assassin with perfect form.

Raising her arms and elevating her chest, she called him out, "Hey big boy. You're pretty pathetic for an assassin."

He turned around and sneered at her, "You. You're going to pay for what you did."

She cocked an eyebrow, "You talk a lot for someone who wants to kill me. Get it over with."

With a yell, he charged at her. He was fast, but not fast enough. As soon as he lifted a foot, Ayumee let go of the arrow. It travelled with precision and speed before claiming its home inside the no-longer beating heart of the crappy assassin.

She squatted over the dead body and began searching it. Jack-pot, the idiot had loads of money on him, around 45650 yen, he also had a nice dagger on him, probably forged by the elves in southern Sunagakure. She rummaged for anything else, but only found a wallet. Thinking there would be more money, she opened it. What she found was not money, but a family picture. The family picture was of the assassin posing with his wife and a new born child.

Ayumee sighed whilst collapsing on her butt. She murdered a father. She shook her head and stood up, no time for feeling remorse for the already dead. The wife would morn and the child would grow up without a father, but they would survive. She stuffed the stolen belongings in her shoulder bag and put the hood up on her cloak. She now had enough money to find a hotel with a bed and a warm shower. Now to find a town.

She set off to find a town when she felt a spike of powerful chakra up in the tall trees. She hopped in front of one out of view and turned her chakra down once more and tore an arrow from her quiver setting it up with her bow. The chakra was 5 feet behind her. She lifted the bow.

"Don't shoot, Ayumee-san."

She lowered the bow with a slightly open surprised mouth.

"Who are you and what do you want?" She hissed.

"My name is Pein. I'm the Leader of the Akatsuki. I'm only interested in speaking to you."

She held her breath and froze. The Akatsuki? That was the name of the organization Itachi was in.

"Can you please come out so I can see you?"

Ayumee pressed her lip in a tight line, "Turn off your Chakra and unarm yourself if you have any weapons on you. Then, I'll come out."

After a minute, she felt the chakra disappear. Taking a deep breath she stepped out in the clearing and lowered her hood.

"Unarmed and chakra off, like promised." She held his arms wide and did a little bow.

"What do you want, Pein of the Akatsuki."

He smirked while walking around, "What all the other criminals want. You on our side." Ayumee narrowed her eyes. Lifting her bow, aiming it at Pein, the Leader laughed, "Oh please, my dear, like it wasn't obvious. I saw what you did with both of the assassin," he kicked the dead body, "Or rather, my spies did. Pretty amazing for a seventeen year old. But, I'm sure being a marksman isn't the only thing you're good at."

Ayumee snarled at Pein, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Pain laughed once again, "Oh, I know you know, Princess Dragomir. Being a future Elder of the Takimoto clan, and particularly an Elder of the Fire Users, you would be an incredible asset to the Akatsuki."

Ayumee didn't say anything but held her stance.

"I hear your control for lightening has come in quite nicely. Quite a rare power too, only found, I hear, in the Dragomir gene-."

"Stop it."

Pein didn't listen, "Which both you and your father both have. I knew your father-"

"**Stop. It.**"

He continued, "I know your cousin too, all thr-"

"If you're trying to get me to join your organization, you're doing a shit job of it." Ayumee fumed, "I don't have time for you telling me things that I already know! Yes, I'm supposed to be an Elder. Yes, I know I have that god-damned Dragomir Gene. And lovely that you remind me I have cousins from Amiko's side of the family, because I really didn't know that," she stuck a foot out as she bowed, "thank you for the pointless information. I bid you adieu." She turned on her heal and began walking the opposite direction.

"I could give you something you've always wanted."

Ayumee laughed cruelly turning back around, "Oh yeah? What would that be?"

"Revenge on those who did you wrong in the past."

Any smirk on the girls' face faded, "I can get that on my own easily."

"By what, killing them like you did that chump?" Pein gestured to the dead body, "You're a great marksman, but killing your enemies swiftly is _so _old. Why don't you get them where it really hurts?" he pointed to his head, "Psychologically," he pointed to his heart, "and Emotionally. Much better than sending them to a quick grave. "

"And explain to me how I would achieve that by joining your organization." Ayumee leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed.

Pein gave a sick smile that sent chills up the Uchiha's spine, "World Domination, of course."

Ayumee remained quiet for a few seconds before bursting out in a belly laugh. Pein's smile died away, "Oh yeah, that is such an achievable goal. You know, I just realized something," she checked her non-existent watch, "I have a date with a warm bed and a hot shower. You know, it's a normal shower but with me in it. So,again, toodaloo~."

When she turned around, suddenly, Pein was in front of her, "I have one other thing I can offer you." He backed her up against the nearest tree, "It's something you've always wanted." Ayumee groaned and rolled her eyes, "I really don't have time for this,"

"You don't have time for a permanent home? A permanent warm bed and shower? You don't have time for people who could possibly know what you're feeling and can teach you to become stronger both emotionally and physically? More importantly, you're going to pass up the opportunity to see your cousin?"

The marksman locked eyes with the Leader, mouth slightly open. There was silence between them for many seconds. Finally, Pein opened his clouded pattern cloak to retrieve a card. "Here. This is my number. Call it if you want to seal the deal, "He stepped away, "It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Ayumee Uchiha. I look forward to seeing you again." And with that, the Leader of the Akatsuki disappeared within a puff of smoke.


	2. A Call to God

**Chapter 2**

**A Call to God**

Kusagakure, the Hidden Grass Village, that was where Ayumee was. She growled as she folded her map. Well this was just great. She had been walking for, how many days now? Or was it weeks, she wasn't sure. And… she looked around to make sure no one was watching before she lifted up her arm and smelt herself, she jerked away. Ugh, she smelt like a hobo. She needed to find a town and fast before smelling bad became her best weapon.

Looking at her map again, Ayumee realized that she wasn't far away from the border of Amegakure. She bit her lip, should she find rest there? She knew that is where that Assassins guild was from, was it safe? Where else did she have to go? The young Uchiha took out the card that Pein gave her. It was black with a white number on it. She was exhausted, and he _did _offer a permanent place to stay. All she would have to do was work for the Akatsuki, which meant murdering a lot of innocents. Ayumee did that already, she thought grimly. She could always call…

She shook off that thought. No. That wasn't an option. She could do this on her own. Plus, she didn't have a cellular device.

Ayumee decided to travel to Amegakure to find shelter. Another twelve hour walk was well ahead of her. To start off that wonderful 12 hour walk, she stepped into a deep, muddy puddle that only made her more dirty than she already was. She gave off a loud groan before stomping into the puddle even more, splashing the water all around. Suddenly, she stopped and glanced up into the sky.

She found it rather odd that there was a lonely puddle when there was no cloud in the sky. There wasn't any other body of water around either. Ayumee wrenched her foot out the puddle as quick as she could.

_That was chakra based water. _Perhaps even an illusion. Ayumee closed her eyes and forced chakra to flow into them activating a very weak sharingan. Peering into the puddle, she found that it was an illusion, peering into it more, she gasped in surprise. Forcing more chakra in her legs, particularly in her feet, she bolted off as fast as she could.

That was a trigger illusion. So, whoever set it up was more than likely notified that she had stomped into it; repeatedly. She soon found out who that was when nine prickles of chakra shot up her senses. Ayumee turned around, running on the path backwards, to see who was tailing her.

It was the remaining members of the Amegakure Assassins guild. She needed to get out of the open. Turning back to face the front, she ran for the forest, jumping from thick branch to thick branch. Her first tactic was to try to lose them by moving in a zig-zag formation through the bulky woodland.

This proved useless as poison needles began being thrown at her by the dozens missing her by millimetres each time. They were catching up to her. All of a sudden, Ayumee felt a sharp pain course through her side. She looked down; a large poisoned kunai was the weapon that cut her. She weaved her way out of the forest and onto the open path again. Ayumee felt herself becoming weaker. Glimpsing around, she spotted a field of rice with the resident farmer tending to it. As rapidly as she could, she ran across the rice field. The farmer shook his fist at her and cussed her out in Japanese. Ayumee didn't care; the house would have a phone.

Breaking the kitchen window glass, she hopped through, cutting herself more on the broken shards. No one was in the house, thank god, but where was the phone? As she was trudging through the house, her eye sight went blurry. Shit, the poison was running through her veins fast. Finally reaching a phone, she ripped the card out of her cloak pocket.

"Oi! What are yo-"

A sickening crack rang through the air. The assassins killed the farmer. Straining her eyes to see the numbers she dialed it.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up," She pleaded.

"I was wondering when I was going to hear from you." It was Pein.

"That's nice, but listen, I... I… I'm b-being ch-a-a-ased." The poison was now rendering her speech.

"By the assassins? Oh I know. And it sounds like their poison has almost got you. Takes a while for it to work, but the symp-"

"Shut up an-and h-h-e-e-elp me." She growled banging her fist on the wall.

"On one condition. You join the Akatsu-"

"Fine. Done. I'll join. N-n-now. H-h-elp me, you asshole." She slammed the phone on the receiver.

Ayumee had no idea where Pein was, she didn't even know if he knew where she was. She just knew he would come. Fighting off the numbness of the poison, she stepped out of the house to face her foes. She still had enough chakra, and enough of her secret power, to at least scare them off.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. A little mouse," One of the assassins chuckled.

"And weak enough to be taken advantage of, "Another laughed.

The numbness was becoming stronger, "Listen here cumsluts," Ayumee retorted as best as she could while her blurry vision made her knees wobbly, "Never in your life will you g-g-get with someone as hot as I am." She stumbled backwards. The assassins laughed.

"Look, she's willingly spreading her legs for us,"

"And she called us cumsluts."

One bent down on his knees and forced Ayumee's legs open farther. Mustering up enough strength, she moved one leg from his grasp and jabbed her heal into the center of his face. Although, she succeeded in breaking one of her attackers face, Ayumee couldn't find any other strength in her body. All she found was that her legs had gone numb. So, this was the end of her adventure. Great, she didn't even get to have sex. But then again, that might be changed within the next few seconds. The assassins were now advancing on her more, unzipping their pants. The poison was almost fully taking her over; she could barely feel anything. Suddenly, a giant shadow descended from the deep blue sky.

"You know, it's not fair to pick on a poor defenceless girl. She might break a nail, un."

First, there was an explosion, secondly there were blood curdling screams, then Ayumee felt a sharp pain in her thigh. Before she blacked out, the last thing she saw was a long-haired blonde, blue eyed man lean over her, shaking her, all the while saying something. The last thing she thought was, "Wow, I would ride that like a horse."

"I'm flying."

Was Ayumee's first conscious thought.

"Am I dead?"

Was her second.

Once she opened her eyes, she found out that yes, she was flying. But, no she wasn't dead. Ayumee was flying on a bird.

Wait.

A _giant_ bird. She groped around; the giant bird was made of _clay. _

"Well, glad to see that you're alive, un."

She shot straight up and blinked. Looking towards the location of the voice, she realized that it was the blonde. Ayumee slowly stabilized herself on her legs, but was soon back on her rump when the bird hit an air pocket and bounced violently. The blonde glanced behind him and laughed.

Ayumee grumbled, "Just land the bird. I have a meeting with someone."

This earned her another laugh, "Wow, how stupid are you? Pein told me to come rescue you, un. Couldn't you tell I was an Akatsuki member from my wonderful wardrobe?" the Blonde gestured towards his red clouded cloak.

Ayumee stood up once again and brushed herself off, "I'm not stupid. And why didn't Pein come himself?"

"He was too far away, yeah. So he called me, since I was close."

"You have a cell?"

"Yeah."

"Mind if I get those numbers, handsome?" Ayumee gave a flirtatious smirk.

The Blonde turned around and cocked an eyebrow, "I think I liked it better when you were unconscious, yeah."

"And I liked it better when you were hovering over me."

"Shut up, kid. You don't even know my name, un." The blonde retorted.

"What is it then?"

"Deidara and if you flirt with me one more time, I'll blow you into pieces no matter how much Pein wants you, I don't care. Now, shut your mouth until we find a town to rest in, got it, yeah?" Deidara hissed.

"What the hell crawled up your ass? I'm just joking around. Why so serious, Barbie Doll?" Ayumee hissed back.

Deidara strolled straight up to Ayumee and pressed his finger to her nose, "Why am I so serious? Because that is how an Akatsuki member should be. What Pein sees in you, I have no idea. But he's my boss and whatever he says, even if that means I have to babysit a snot nosed brat like you, yeah."

The blonde turned on his heal and went straight back to the front of the bird leaving Ayumee to furrow her brow. After a few minutes of silence, the young Uchiha murmured loud enough for Deidara to hear;

"Jerk."

To which Deidara promptly replied, "Bitch."


	3. The Princess' Decision

**Chapter 3**

**The Princess' Decision**

"You're lost."

It was an observation. One that Ayumee deemed correct when Deidara grunted curse words and checked his map again. After flying for a couple of hours, the young Uchiha asked where the Akatsuki base was and how close they were to it. The blonde bomber grumbled about not being to the base before since it was new and he'd been on a mission when they had obtained it.

"We need to find a town. Get proper directions. Rest. The sun is going down, It'll be dark soon."

"You're an Uchiha, use your Sharingan and figure it out, yeah."

He went back to ignoring her for the umpteenth time that day.

Ever since Ayumee regained conscious and Deidara had been nothing but boorish towards her, she had a feeling that he was not too keen on Uchiha's. She was correct; ever since Itachi had defeated his art with Sharingan all those years ago, he held a bit of a grudge. He also disliked the way the Uchiha held an arrogance about himself.

She sighed and raked her hand through her blonde hair, "I can try to use my Sharingan. But I doubt it will be much use."

Deidara snorted, "A diffident Uchiha. You must be the 8th Wonder of the World."

She narrowed her eyes at his quip, but shot back flirtatiously, "Well, I _am_ but in a different way. If we find a town, I can show you all of my wonders," she finished with a wink.

The bomber frowned, "I take that back, you're _far_ from diffident, yeah." He turned back to his map, "But, you're right. We need to find a town, I should be able to find one fast if we fly. Or we could continue to search. It shouldn't get dark for another hour. Or maybe not, I'm in no hurry to find the hideout. Tobi will be there an- Hey!"

Ayumee was poking holes in the clay bird out of boredom. She looked up in surprise when he shouted, "What?"

"Poke holes in the bird one more time, I'll blow you all the way to Kumo, yeah." Deidara growled fiercly.

She blinked at him before turning back to flirting with him, "You can blow me anytime, honey. And what's the big deal? Can't you just make another bird? Or-" she smudged the small holes over, "See? There. All gone."

Deidara's eye twitched, "Have you no appreciation for art, yeah?"

Before Ayumee could answer, there was a sudden rumbling in the ground. An earthquake? She leaped off the clay bird, taking no precaution, and lowered into a crouching position. She slowed her breathing as her eyes spun crimson painfully. No, it wasn't an earthquake. Someone or something was coming. Unexpectedly, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist. They bounded her back onto the bird.

"The ground quakes and you jump on the ground not thinking that it could hurt you, yeah?"

Ayumee shrugged, "Curious."

Deidara let go of her waist as the bird beat its wings and lifted off just for a second. The ground broke with a rumble sending rock everywhere. Once the chaos cleared, Ayumee saw that there was what seemed to be a venus fly trap in the middle of the disturbed ground. Except that in the middle of the plant, there was a man.

"Deidara, Pein is wondering why it's taking so long,** he's becoming restless.**"

The plant could speak.

"How nice to know Pein thinks of me, yeah."

**"This is no time for jokes.** Pein wants the girl at the base, immediately. **What's the hold up?**"

"The map Pein gave me was shit, I can't find the hideout, yeah." Deidara said dryly.

**"You need to learn how to read maps.** Come and hold onto me. We'll teleport quicker." The plant-man offered.

Both hopped off the bird. As soon as the aerial creature disappeared, Deidara walked over to the plant and placed a hand on his side.

He glanced at Ayumee, "Well? Come on, yeah."

The Uchiha gingerly walked over to the plant and delicately placed her hand just as Deidara had done. Seeing both on his side, the plant-man made a sign before teleporting the three of them to the Akatsuki base.

Rumours that the Akatsuki had recruited the Dragomir Princess into their organisation spread like wildfire on Takimoto grounds. There was too much to hold to let their neutral reputation be tarnished by a foolish child.

Or, that's what Tsar Voda thought as he scowled. This girl was too valuable to loose, but yet, so ignorant about her role in the Kingdom. She was so ignorant, in fact, that she just up and left one day four years ago. And for what? To prove that she was much more than a princess that and quote, "was only seen as one to open her legs and breed an heir to a man she could care nothing about."

The nerve of the child, the Tsar thought as he took a sip of wine. Voda had taken her in when her mother died and her father vanished. He _saved_ her from the Uchiha Massacre that had happened only later that year. If it weren't for him, she'd be dead. He had raised her like any future Elder of the Takimoto clan would be raised; cold, hard, and without feeling.

Future Elder's had no room for _emotions_. They were the military of the Takimoto clan, they were second in command to the King; they needed to be tough physically and emotionally; despite what element they had mastered.

Another glower sizzled onto the face of the Tsar. _That_ was another problem that occurred when the brat left. Her element.

Each element had to have an Elder, a Leader that the users of each factor could turn to for advice and be comfort in knowing that they were safe. And to up the Leadership, the Elders had to be from one of the five Royal families. Voda housed water users, Zi-ma was responsible for ice users, Belikov nurtured Wind users, Zemlya housed Earth users, and Dragomir _were_ full of fire starters. These families were all accountable for providing an heir to the Elder for their respective element. But since Prince Afonos, the second last Dragomir, had went missing seventeen years ago, Fire had no Elder to take charge.

There was hope in Ayumee for becoming an Elder, but even she had run away from her duty just like her father. It seemed as though the apple fall far from the tree.

Sighing, Tsar Voda called for his squire to bring him stationary and a quill. If the Princess was now in the Akatsuki, he would request audience with the Leader to negotiate as to why she was needed back at the Manor rather than prancing around doing pointless tasks with a criminal organization. Hopefully the Leader of the damned would see eye to eye and return Ayumee home.

"Do you accept?"

Ayumee frowned as she stared across the sleek black desk over at the flamed-hair Leader. She had accepted didn't she? That was why she phoned.

"I thought calling you was my acception."

The plant-man, whom she later found out was named Zetsu, hadn't lied when he said he'd teleport them straight to the Hideout. He, in fact, teleported them right into Pein's 'office.' He had dismissed Deidara and Zetsu, to speak one on one with Ayumee.

"It was part of it. But, I have to know if you're going to be loyal to Akatsuki." He said simply. His grey ringed eyes, were fixed on her, never blinking.

Ayumee leaded forward in her seat, letting her light blue eyes gaze into Pein's, "I have a feeling you don't only want my word as a sign of loyalty."

A ghost of a smile from Pein, "Correct, you will be put through a series of tests. But, first…" What Pein did next surprised her in the slightest; he began speaking her first language; Russian.

"_Coming from a Russian/Japanese clan whose reputation for not siding with 'good' or 'bad' at all, there was some… instability with alliance loyalty that concerns me,"_ He spoke in flawless Russian, Ayumee noted, but she did not like he generalized her with the rest of the clan, but she understood why.

She nodded, _"You're speaking of the failed Alliance with the Uchiha clan that was ruined when I was born? Of course there were more failed alliances than that, but, Da, I can understnd, but _you, _too must understand that I wish to not associate myself with the Takimoto clan. I am much different from the money hungry royals within. But, I realize your area of concern."_

_"Also, there is this," _He slid a letter, with what Ayumee recognized was the Voda seal, she pressed her lips in a tight line as she read it. When done, she folded it and tossed it on the table, _"The Tsar has requested audience with me to talk about where your priorities stand. It would seem he wants you to give up this 'silly quest' and return to the Manor. Where are your thoughts on this?"_

The young Uchiha shook her head, _"I have no desire to return."_

_"Why did you leave in the first place?"_

Ayumee launched into a story her adventure that had started four years ago. She had left in a rage after finding out that she was being married off to the Tsar's great nephew Toga Zi-ma. All of her life she had trained to become solely an Elder, a shinobi to protect the Takimoto clan just like her father had done. She remembered thinking, how _dare_ he decide whom she was going to marry. Being an Elder required undivided attention. She felt like marriage, especially at fourteen, would only stunt her ability to reach her full potential. And since rage had consumed her, she fell into her first specialization; lightning. She had yet to obtain fire. But, full of blind rage, she fled the manor with no desire to return until the Tsar lifted the arranged marriage.

Ayumee had never been in love, she had never even been kissed. If she wanted to be kissed and fall in love, it would be with a man of her choosing. It would not be at the hand of the Tsar to keep the Dragomir line going simply by marrying her off and becoming impregnated at _fourteen. _The Dragomir name was hers and hers alone. To be quite frank, Tsar Voda could fuck off.

_"So, you're trying to prove something to the Tsar?"_ Pein asked once she was done her story.

_"Da, and to show him that I will not conform to the normality. Like I said, I have no aspiration for returning. I want to live my life the way I want it."_

Pein nodded, as if understanding her ordeal, "_Do I have your word for loyalty?"_

Did he? Ayumee thought, this was a chance to live her life the way she wanted it, and perhaps to get revenge on Voda for trying to make her do something she didn't want to do. Plus, as promised, she might get revenge on _others_ who have done her wrong. But, Pein also had spoke of her being an asset to Akatsuki. But, why?

_"Da, you have my word for loyalty. But, I must know, what is your objective if you're recruiting me?"_

A hint of a smirk pulled at Pein's lips, _"World Domination. You of all people should know this world is corrupt. Myself, and the help of the members want to take the poison out of this world. But how, one might ask. It's simple. We break the Five Great Nations from the inside out."_

_"How do you plan on doing that?"_

_"You must have heard the Akatsuki have been collecting all nine of the jinchuuriki. The world believes we have a greater purpose for collecting them. But, really it's all for show. I want the world to believe that we are concocting something sinister with the jinchuuriki, but, in reality, we're playing mind games with the world. We can make them paranoid. And eventually, that paranoia will have them turning on each other. They will question other villages on whether or not they let this happen. They will question their own Leaders and rebel against their own home. They will even question their own morals. I am hoping this will turn into another Great Shinobi War._

_"A war that will destroy the world. And once that is done, that is when Akatsuki will step in and offer salvation. Together, we can create a peaceful new world that Akatsuki, more myself, will man at the head as their Gods. That is why you will be an asset. You rarely find a strong marksman _and_ a representative from powerful rivalry clans. Your rebellion has interested me."_

The Uchiha was taken aback, Pein wanted to create World Peace? And to achieve that, he wanted war? How interesting. It was true, Ayumee knew the world was corrupt beyond words, and she wanted to change that. But, was war the correct way to achieve that? Nontheless, she was interested in showing Tsar Voda, and the rest of the Takimoto clan, she was more than a Princess, and perhaps more than an Elder. She would have to find out.

_"You were saying my word of loyalty was not good enough. What more could you want?" _She asked thoughtfully.

_"If you accept, then you will be a part of Akatsuki, but not as a fully fledged member. You will be a novice under one of the members to train you more and perfect your skills. You will go on missions with them as well as learn the ropes with your mentor."_ Pein glanced past Ayumee and motioned someone inside.

Switching back to English, he continued, "Your mentor will be Deidara, if you choose to say yes and accept."

Ayumee felt Deidara's presence behind her and tensed. Great. She was stuck with him.

"You two will share a room-" She heard Deidara groan softly. "Now is not the time for being angry, Deidara," He turned back to Ayumee, "Do you accept?"

The blonde Uchiha nodded, "I accept."


	4. Lightning Bolts

**Chapter Four**

**Lightning Bolts**

"_Keep a look-out for our target, guys, yeah."_

"_Senpaaaaaaaaai, I have to go to the washroom."_

"_For gods sake, Tobi. I told you to go before we left the hotel, yeah."_

"_You rushed him, jerk."_

"_Shut up, bitch."_

"_Oh well, _excuuuuuuuse _me, yeah."_

"_Don't mimic me, yeah."_

"Don't mimic me, yeah."

"_Ayumee."_

"_Yes, senpai dear?"_

Deidara tore off the ear piece and growled. He glanced around through his scope before deciding that this wasn't the area their target was in. After a couple of months being Ayumee's mentor, he was already sick of her. She was snarky, disrespectful and extremely hard to work with. Pein had noticed this and sent them on missions together with high hopes that they would find a silver lining. Like the current mission himself, Ayumee, and his partner, Tobi were on. Pein informed them that he needed a certain sacred scroll from one of the gangs out in Sun Country, though he didn't specify as to why he needed them. Deidara thought it best to not ask. But, he didn't like going to Sun Country and for a very good reason.

Sun Country had very little to no shinobi residing within its walls, and in turn, they disliked all ninja as well. Sun also thrived in taking pleasure in things that were purely for vanity. Oh, but they had enough money to show off just how much they enjoyed their narcissism. Every building and decoration spread within Sun was supposedly artistically done, with statues along with buildings made to look as if they were from the Renaissance. But, Deidara knew what true beauty and art was. This was not it, not when it was done for the enjoyment of showing off how much money one had. The explosions master thought was highly pathetic and extremely unartistic. Unfortunatel_y_, his dislikes didn't matter when it came to Leader's needs.

The explosions master scoffed, as to becoming friends with the Uchiha? There seemed to be no such chance. Leader had told them, if they didn't clean up their acts, he would have to resort to desperate measures and force them to like each other. But, even that wasn't enough to keep them from being at each other's throats 24/7.

The blonde put the microphone back to his mouth, " _Hm, Look, meet me at the next spot the target has been spotted. Comprende?"_

"_Okay Senpai!"_

"_Ayumee?"_

"_I think I see him."_

"_Where are you, yeah?"_

"_I'm in the town at the café where you told me to be doofus. He's sitting with some other guys… they're exchanging cash and… oh, oh dear."_

"_What 'oh dear.'"_

"_They have the scroll Pein wants, plus a few others that I think Pein wo-"_

"_Great. Don't do anything-"_

"_What do you mean don't do anything?"_

"_I mean exactly that. These men will kill you, yeah."_

"_And like, you care about whether or not I die."_

"_Don't pull this on me right now, kid."_

"_I can take them! Give me a chance."_

"_Senpai? Ayumee-"_

"_No. You are not taking them. You will jeopardize the mission!"_

"_Senpa-."_

"Please_, Deidara. I can hold them until you get here."_

"_No! You are inexperienced, you will get yourself killed and it will be on my head. I don't need you complicating my life further than you already have. Stay there and don't move."_

Ayumee stopped drinking her latte mid sip and set it down on the table. Like hell she was inexperienced. She frowned, well, okay. Her techniques needed to be polished; and the fact that she used lightning as her main skill only confirmed that her techniques needed to be refined. Every time she tried to use that specific skill, anything else electronic would stop working. But, right now, Ayumee didn't care about that. She wanted to show that idiotic explosions master that she was strong enough to take on the gang members.

Drowning out Deidara's pleas, she gently channeled electricity into her fingertips, smirking at the blue light appearing at the end of her digits. She'd like to see Deidara try this. It had taken her almost four years to be able to channel a small amount of electricity into her fingers. Even though it was a small quantity, it could pack a punch. Suddenly, she felt the electricity heighten out of her control. All around her, electric gadgets began to go off; the lights of the café even began to flicker. Some of the patrons began to gasp and look around in alarm. Ayumee bit her lip and stuck her hand under her tailbone. She hastily took a sip from her latte, concentrating on the drink a little too much. She was relieved when everything began to take a calm turn whilst everyone returned to their own business.

_Almost_ everyone.

Flicking her blue eyes over the two targets for a moment before returning to the now cold latte, Ayumee deduced their attitude towards the sudden outbreak of eerie electronic behaviour. Judging from their stiff posture coupled with an understated browse about the café, they suspected something was up. This was not good.

Ayumee jerked tersely as she heard Deidara growl her name gruffly into the mic. Oops, she forgot about him. She rubbed her temple from the small spasm of pain that appeared while she candidly spoke into the microphone with a harsh tone.

"_What?"_

"_What did you do."_

Uh oh. How had he..? Unless the small electric wave she sent out reached more than the café. She mentally slapped herself, he wasn't stupid. He knew that her main specialty was lightning, and he knew not from word of mouth. Many times when they had a tiff, Ayumee would electrocute him enough for him to twinge in pain.

"…_What do you mean?"_

"_You know what I mean! I'm almost at the café and all I see are lights going off uncharacteristically. You're main technique is electricity. I put two and two together. _What did you do."

"_Why do you always suspect me? It could have been an earthquake." _She offered haughtily. It was a lame excuse born out of pure immaturity.

"_Do you think I'm stupid, hm? The ground didn't shake! You're fucking lucky these guys can't feel chakra signals or else your ass would be handed to you right then and there."_

Sensing movement from the gang members she threw her gaze back at them, momentarily forgetting the ranting blonde at the other end of her mic. Both were now regarding her with frank suspicion. Before any of the gang members could make a move, Ayumee could see what they were going to do ahead of time. It wasn't any special technique or anything magical that she could summon up to 'see the future,' It was a trait the blonde acquired in her lifetime from simply people watching. A slight movement of a body part, the way the person dressed, their facial expressions, Ayumee could identify their next move, emotion, or social style. To her, it came in very useful, but it took years to practice the perfection of learning human psychology.

"_I think I'm about to get my ass handed to me, regardless, jerk." _She spat into the mic.

The Uchiha was up, out of her place in advance of the gang members, whom jumped up and pursued her. She manoeuvred her way around the crowded streets of the city, weaving her way around civilians hoping to lose her pursuers. She spotted an alleyway and ducked into it, scurrying to the shadows.

"_Where the hell are you, yeah?" _Deidara's voice demanded.

"_They suspect_ _something and are in pursuit." _She whispered.

She heard a sound that resembled one hitting oneself in the face, "_That's fucking great. I told you to stay put. How come you never listen to me, hm?"_

"_Simple, I have a mind of my own."_

He scoffed, "_You're just a control freak."_

"_I wouldn't be talking if I were you, girlie man."_

"_Shut your trap and stay where you are this time, hm. I have a plan, I'm going to bomb up the place as a distraction Tobi will grab the smaller guy. The bigger guy doesn't have the scrolls, so he's useless and can be killed. You stay there and wait until we're done."_

"_Where is Tobi, by the way?"_

"_Tobi?"_

"_S-sorry senpai, Tobi tried to tell you, but Tobi had to go to the bathroom real bad, and when Tobi did, these big scary guys hit Tobi. Tobi is taking care of them now."_

"…_I'll have to do this myself, then, yeah."_

"_Deidara, I could always-"_

"_No, Ayumee."_

All of a sudden, a loud bang reverberated throughout the air as, assumingly, one of Deidara's bombs went off. Screams could be heard from all around her as even more explosions rang through the air. Ayumee pressed her back against the alley wall in trivial unease for a moment before leisurely making her way out of the alleyway. A few of the statues in the square, along with the water fountain had been demolished with the remaining pieces now scattered throughout the area. The Princess snorted, that was Deidara alright. Was he planning to blow up the city? Or did he want to scare the living daylights out of the gang members? Probably both, she knew he hated this city. His artistic views about him showed when they landed in Sun Country. Upon entering someone had given the terrorist a brochure about the history of the buildings all the while smiling telling him to 'enjoy the art.' She heard Deidara scoff at that and complained 'this wasn't true art' and 'only he could know what true art is' along with 'if they want art, I'll gladly show them art by blowing this shithole up.'

Ayumee couldn't say she liked Sun, but she hated it for an entirely different reason than for the sake of 'true art.' Sun Country was conceit; too worried about their looks and social standards. Too many times today she had been scoffed at by passersby for wearing jean shorts and a black v-necked cami.

"How _plain,"_ one Lady in a blue high-low chiffron dress tittered.

"Look how _short _she is too," another one in a flutter top Georgette dress chortled.

It took all that Ayumee had to clout them out right then and there. She was only five foot, but she could sure pack a punch. Those six foot one, leggy, tanned models had nothing on her in the way of fighting. She let their snickers slid off. For _now. _

Ayumee looked around for her pursuers , spotting them hiding under a store awning veiling themselves from the bombs. She had a clear shot of them and could probably take them out _if_ she had her bow. Due to Sun hating shinobi, she had to leave it on Deidara's bird, which she saw fly over head. Others saw it too and more screams emitted into the air. Ayumee focused on their body movements, feeling as if the world slowed as she did so. They were looking around in their crouching position, talking to each other, muscles stiff, as if ready to move. Each time their muscles twitched to run from under the awning, a bomb would go off and they would return to their crouching position. The world returned to normal as Ayumee lost focus on the men. She brought the microphone back up to her mouth,

"_Keep bombing and drop my quiver and bow, I have a lock on the gang members."_

"_I already told you I'm going to keep bombing. Also no, you stay where you are and don't do anything, hm."_

"_I wouldn't be moving,"_ she lied, she needed to get closer range, "_Drop the quiver and bow, I'm in the alleyway west of the lingerie shop."_

No answer.

"_Deidara, you need help. From what I can see, they're under an awning quivering in fear from your explosions. As long as you're up there, you can't get to them. I'm here, I can help."_

A large shadow appeared overhead. Glancing up, she saw her weapons declining from the bird. She caught them and slid the quiver on her back with bow in hand.

"_Keep bombing, I'm moving out."_

"_Goddamn liar!"_

"_Try not to bomb me."_

"_Ayumee-"_

It was too late for Deidara to try to reach Ayumee as she tore off the microphone set throwing it to the ground. She ran out of the alleyway and in one swift movement grabbed an arrow out of her quiver, jumped into the air dodging a bomb as it fell, landing on the end of her heel making her fall back on her legs. She didn't stop, but she slid on the back of her legs towards the gang members as chaos erupted around her. Ignoring the stinging pain in her legs, Ayumee loaded her bow aiming it for the heart of the larger member. She let go at the last minute, letting the arrow penetrate his heart just as the smaller man raised a gun at her.

She grabbed his forearm and flung him from under the awning out into the open. He collapsed to the ground and Ayumee turned him over with her foot pressing on his chest with her arrow loaded bow pointed directly at his throat.

"Give me the scroll." She demanded.

"N-never." He coughed in reply.

"I'd listen to her if I were you, yeah."

Ayumee didn't realize the bombing had stopped until Deidara appeared beside her. She honestly was taken by surprise when the bomber reinforced her demand, but then again, it was their mission to get the scroll this man had.

"Never," the man replied.

Growing impatient, Ayumee re-aimed the arrow towards his abdomen and shot it into him. He screamed in pain as it went in. She leaned down, placing her fist around the arrow.

"You're going to listen to me, or else I'll do something that'll make you wish you were fucking dead." She growled dangerously at him.

"Try me, bitch." He hissed back.

Once again, she channeled electricity into her hand and watched with a smug grin as he writhed in anguish while the electricity travelled though his body, curdling his blood and damaging his nervous system.

Deidara watched in fascination at the blue light emitting from the young girl's hand. It was bright and beautiful, yet, judging from the screams secreting from the gang member, it was destructive and painful. It was another art form and he soon found himself gaining appreciation with a tinge of respect for the other blonde. This was her Art. He also noticed the way her pale cheeks blush red as she held a sadistic smirk glancing down at her art was actually kind of… _cute. _

He frowned slightly when the light faded disappointed to see it die away.

"Give me the scroll," she demanded once again.

The man, now weak with bolts of electricity surging through him looked down to his chest. Ayumee opened his jacket pocket to find three scrolls inside. She identified the scroll they needed passing it to Deidara along with the other two. She grabbed the arrow again and let the electricity surge from her body to his the same as before, but this time, more powerful and also more out of control and reckless. It was potent enough to create bouts of thunder in the air, which astonished Deidara even more. But what really amazed him were the small cracks in the man's skin that formed from the lightning like ability. The small cracks themselves looked like tiny lightning bolts, taking over the gang member's body as he convulsed in pain. With one last blood curdling scream, he died.

Ayumee rose from her crouching position and made her way over to the bird, being eerily quiet. The bomber noticed that the seemingly simple technique to kill the gang member had almost completely drained her chakra; she didn't even have enough to hop onto the bird. Not only that, but there was deep cuts on the back of her legs with rubble and dirt lodged into them. Leaving the corpse on the ground along with the many scared on lookers, he went over to Ayumee.

"Do you need help, yeah?"

She gave a small tired nod and Deidara wrapped one arm around her waist, letting his fingers brush lightly against her all the while pulling her back tight against him. He leaped both of them onto the bird and took off. Before they left, Deidara let another small bomb drop into the square of the town.

"Katsu," he murmured triggering the bomb to go off. He turned back to Ayumee who, when he let go of her waist, sat in front of him, clutching onto the clay for support.

"Let's find Tobi and get out of here, hm. You look like shit."

"So do you, girlie."

Deidara groaned, it was going to be a long flight to where ever the hell Tobi was.


End file.
